Sithembiso Nyoni ? a fighter for rural folk, Daily...
Sithembiso Nyoni ? a fighter for rural folk, Daily news
Date: January 1, 1970
SHARE:
This article profiles the internationally-recognised development work of Sithembiso Nyoni who founded the Organisation of Rural Associations for Progress (ORAP).
This article profiles the internationally-recognised development work of Sithembiso Nyoni who founded the Organisation of Rural Associations for Progress (ORAP).
This article may be used to:
- This article provides learning tips on the portrayal of women as leaders.
Trainer’s notes
How does the media portray women as leaders?
The media promotes certain ideas and values on class, ethnicity and gender. The news criteria of ‘prominence’ is used often to represent the views, perspectives and lives of people who are professionals, business persons, politicians, whereas the views of people who are ‘blue collar’ , informal workers, traders, subsistence farmers, etc in the rural and peri-urban areas and communities are not represented in the media.
Women in leadership, professional or positions of power, on the other hand, seldom make the news. And when they do, the media’s portrayal of their lives may be over simplistic; an unfair and unbalanced representation of their reality; or, the media may tag them according to a stereotype.
The media’s portrayal of women in leadership, also may combine their class/sex/ethnicity into a stereotype of the ideal or the ‘perfect woman/girl’, or desirable macho man. The media also conveys subtle and overt messages about the roles women and men should play at home and in society.
Stereotype of the superwoman – The modern career woman is often portrayed as a superwoman. The superwoman image is the successful executive who also is the perfect wife, mother and hostess. This image identifies with a particular social class and is central to a modern consumer society. A successful small farmer who is a mother is never portrayed as a superwoman. (Whose Perspective? A Guide to a Gender-Sensitive Analysis of the Media, 1998)
The ‘superwoman’ stereotype can be as detrimental as the other gender stereotypes for women in the media, although at first glance, it looks positive or harmless. But this stereotype, like others, limits women’s roles and sets up unrealistic ideals as standards to be met.
In reading the case study on Sithembiso Nyoni, she is portrayed as a role model for children (the story appears on the Children’s Page of the newspaper), because of her leadership and service to rural communities.
What is interesting to note about the profile is:
- That it makes no mention of her as a prominent politician; nor,
- Does the story mention that she is a government minister.
While the story makes note of her leadership qualities honed prior to becoming a politician and government minister, the absence of these details in the profile sends a subtle message to girl children that leadership at the community level – helping with schools, income generating projects – is a befitting role for women, but the should not aspire to higher positions.
Nyoni is depicted as calm, stable and able to handle men (even with guns) in a stressful situation; as an innovator; as a person who gets things done; who wins awards, and who puts service to the people as the utmost priority in her life. And, she is also portrayed as a wife and mother- she is pregnant when she confronts male attackers. By accomplishing all she has and still being a wife and mother, Nyoni is presented as a ‘non-threatening’ role model to women and men about standards women can achieve.
In other words, the leadership role of women, according to the messages conveyed in the story, are confined to the gender roles of nurturing, caring for others, being of service, and at the same time, fulfilling the roles of wife and mother.
The story is told through her voice and perspective and she comes across as a confident actor rather than as a passive victim. The story does bolster self-esteem, but sets a limit on how far a woman can go by not mentioning Nyoni’s role in government now. The more acceptable of her two roles seems to be her past, rather than her ministerial position.
The images further emphasise her active role in the rural communities. In the images, she receives an award in recognition of her leadership and service to rural communities; she confronts the men, while her husband is handcuffed and on the ground; and she moves through the rural communities as a modern woman by car, with everyone greeting her.
In this story Nyoni is depicted as a strong, fearless and active woman, but these leadership qualities are confined to community leadership and service and not in the area of governance where she is also. Notice that the headline also reinforces this message – A fighter for rural folk.
Training exercises
Exercise one: Read the case study and analyse the text by answering the following questions:
- Who speaks in this story?
- What adjectives would you use to describe how Nyoni is portrayed in the article?
- What gender stereotypes are conveyed in the article?
- What messages are conveyed in the article about women in leadership?
- Does the article build the woman’s self-esteem? Explain answer.
Exercise two: Read the case study and analyse the images by answering the following questions:
What issues are dealt with in the images?
- What messages are conveyed in the images about women and men?
- Do any of the images build women’s self-esteem?
- Do the images portray the main actor in the story as a leader? Explain answer.
Download : Sitembiso Nyoni - a fighter for
Connect with us
Comment on Sithembiso Nyoni ? a fighter for rural folk, Daily news